State Issues

Obamacare has not done much to slow the growth of health care costs. Government actuaries project that health spending will grow 5.8% a year over the next decade — substantially faster than growth in the economy. Could Republican proposals to sell health insurance across state lines bend the cost curve and make premiums more...

Any candidate that suggests such a scheme only shows how unsophisticated he and his advisers are when it comes to understanding how the insurance markets really work––or could work. I gave a speech to 750 health insurance brokers and consultants in DC last week. When selling health insurance across state lines, something Trump and...

The Galen Institute has submitted comments about a proposed Internal Revenue Service regulation that would give nonprofits the option of asking donors for their Social Security numbers to substantiate donations of more than $250. We strongly oppose this rule that would provide a “voluntary” path to collect and report not only the Social Security...

Joel C. White, president of the Council for Affordable Health Coverage, and Grace-Marie Turner, president of the Galen Institute, have written to members of Congress seeking oversight of the Consumer Operated and Oriented Plan (co-op) program. All but one of the 22 co-ops created under the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) have produced...

Overview The Affordable Care Act created a new kind of “cooperative” health insurance arrangement heralded by supporters of health reform. The co-ops were founded on the idealistic belief that community members could band together to create health insurance companies that would be member-driven, service-oriented, and would not have to answer to shareholders or turn...